Something you will notice if you get the chance to look at enough different Darnes is that the quality of the first few years of the Stoeger imports is superb compared to the final years production of the same importer, or the bulk of what James Wayne later imported. The company was in the process of dying in the 1970s, and, it showed. I'd rate this gun as on par with any great pre-war example, and just a shade shy of a Bruchet full custom. It's that nice.
This doesn't seem to be an issue with European production, just the stuff that came here.
The 20 gauge that I owned and which I photographed for the summer of 1996 Double Gun Journal article I wrote was a James Wayne import, with bland wood, and cartoonish engraving. I no longer own that gun, but, wish I did, as, mechanically, it was as good a Darne gun as I've ever handled, and I couldn't seem to miss with it.
Some other pretty gun bauble caught my eye, and I sold it.
Good engraving isn't everything.
Best,
Ted
